Regarding the new emoji icons that were being previewed, Apple said in a blog post:

With thousands of emoji available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac, there are many ways to add personality to every message. New emoji include Woman with Headscarf, Bearded Person and Breastfeeding, and food items such as Sandwich and Coconut. More animals and mythical creatures like T-Rex, Zebra, Zombie and Elf are a fun way to describe situations and new Star-Struck and Exploding Head smiley faces make any message more fun.

Additionally, the iOS App Store will be showcasing apps that are related to emoji and the iTunes Store will be replacing some movie titles with emoji – a fun way to celebrate World Emoji Day!

As someone who uses emoji with a decent frequency, I have to say that this upcoming batch of emoji icons are pretty neat, with many of the icons having a great deal of detail to them. As far as initial favorites go, the “mind blown” and “zombie” emoji are probably at the top of the list for me.

If you’re an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch owner, or perhaps an Apple enthusiast, you have probably heard about the newest version of Apple’s iOS operating system, iOS 7, which was revealed yesterday, on the first day of Apple’s WWDC event in San Francisco, California.

While there was no new iPhone announced, it was announced that Apple’s iOS would be getting a pretty significant update, to iOS 7, this Fall and would be available on the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and the newer iPod Touch and iPad models.

Included in this update are a variety of new features including a new design for the user interface (which includes app icons, the app dock, as well as many of the Apple applications themselves), the addition of the “Control Center”, an update to the “Notification Center”, improved multi-tasking capabilities, iTunes Radio, the camera app, Safari, Siri, and other updates, as well.

User Interface & Design:

The user interface and design that we have been used to in previous iterations of iOS, including the current version, iOS 6, will be receiving a pretty significant update, with many of the Apple made applications’ icons and user interfaces getting face-lifts. Included in this list of apps are Notes, Safari, Calendar, Photos, Camera, Weather, Stocks, Compass, and many of the other Apple apps that are included in iOS.

In addition to the icons themselves being updated with new looks, many of the Apple application user interfaces will also be getting new looks, with many of the apps featuring new, simplified UIs.

For example, the Messages application will be updated with a new UI that features new speech bubbles that look “flatter” than the ones in previous versions of iOS. The keyboard section of the app will feature a keyboard that contains combinations of black, white, and grey. These updates provide a “cleaner” and more simplified look to the app, while still looking similar to the previous version of Messages.

Another significant app update is present in the built-in Weather app, which will feature animations detailing the current weather conditions, in a way that is similar to those seen in other, third-party, weather apps available in the App Store. So, if it is raining outside and you launch the Weather app, you will see rain drops falling on your iPhone’s screen, along with other weather information, like the temperature, etc.

Siri will also be receiving an update in iOS 7, which will make it look more simple and will feature a new screen that appears when talking to or asking questions of the application. In addition to asthetics, Siri will also feature a voice update, and users will now be able to choose between a male and female voice.

Control Center:

Another update included in iOS 7 is Control Center, which provides users with quick access to what their phone is doing at the current moment. Accessible by swiping up on the screen at any time, even from the lock screen, users can perform actions, such as set their phone to Airplane Mode, enable or disable Wi-Fi, turn on the “rotate-lock”, adjust screen brightness, and view information regarding music and volume.

The new Control Center will also enable users to quickly access several apps, including the Calculator app, enable the new “Flashlight” feature, use the camera, and use their timer application.

Notification Center:

The Notification Center, which has been around for a while, and can be accessed by swiping down from the top of the screen from almost any application, is also getting some updates in the newest version of iOS.

Among the updates to the Notification Center include the ability to view the weather, your calendar, reminders, missed calls, text messages, and more. Users can also choose whether they would like to see notifications for “Today”, “All”, or “Missed”, which gives them better control over the information they would like to see.

Multitasking:

Multitasking is another feature that has been around for a while that is receiving some updates.

In iOS 7, the operating system learns which applications users like to use, and when, and has the ability to update the app’s content before the user even opens it. This feature may be good for checking applications like the weather, stocks, Facebook, Twitter, and any other app that you check frequently or at a specific time of the day.

Also, like before, pressing the Home button twice will reveal the applications that are currently running on the phone. However, in iOS 7, not only will apps appear in the bottom, dock area, you will also be able to view previews of the applications and if you would like to quit one, all you have to do is swipe up, putting it out of view.

Additionally, iOS 7 will schedule updates to your phone at times that are more convenient for the battery, such as when the phone is plugged in and connected to Wi-Fi.

Other Updates:

In addition to the updates mentioned and explained above, many other features of iOS will be receiving updates, including the camera application, Photos application, Safari, AirDrop, the App Store, Siri, and more.

Also, iOS 7 will feature iTunes Radio, which enables users to stream music and more from “radio stations” available from within the app, which sounds similar to other third-party applications, like iHeartRadio.

Also, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions related to this blog post or any other matter, please feel free to use the Contact page to send me an e-mail. Alternatively, you can send a Tweet to either @TechnicalCafe or @Jamiemcg!